“Small business owners frequently hear about that two-year milestone, and how many businesses never make it to that point,” said the Tampa press release writer. “I’m grateful to have made it this far and, even in this tough economy, I see opportunities for growth.”

One way Walker is celebrating the PR agency’s success is by creating an internship in her office. It is open to college students who are juniors and seniors majoring in journalism, public relations or marketing.

Walker sees it as a way of giving back to the profession by providing an avenue for a student to see how what they’ve learned to date is applied in the field.

“I’ve always enjoyed the mentoring process,” she said. “I look forward to giving someone an opportunity to apply what they’ve learned, and I also would like to learn a bit about what is being taught regarding social media in journalism and public relations.”

Walker is a proponent of social media’s many uses in the PR field.
A champion of local environmental efforts, Walker also celebrated the anniversary milestone this year by going green in her office. She replaced old carpeting with carpet made from recycled plastic drink bottles. Not only is the carpet made from recycled content, it also is recyclable, should it need replacement in the future.

Walker also repainted her office walls with no-VOC paint. Volatile Organic Compounds create strong chemical odors and tend to be more concentrated in buildings than outside.
Walker also plans to incorporate more plants into her office décor this month.

“I’ve done what I could to keep the air clean by repainting with low-VOC paint, but I’ve been reading up on how beneficial plants can be to office air quality, so I’m going to add some plants, too,” she said. “I believe that creating a comfortable environment is more conducive to work. I want to be as productive as possible, so I’m willing to try even the little things that will make my office a more pleasant environment.”
Energy-efficient lighting replaced incandescent light bulbs last year in Walker’s office.

Learn More
If you would like to learn more about writing services in Tampa provided by Lorrie Walker Communications, Inc. or you would like more information on the internship opportunity that is available, please visit the agency’s Web site: www.lorriewalker.com or call (863) 614-0555.

About Lorrie Walker Communications, Inc.
Lorrie Walker Communications, Inc. is a public relations agency based in Lakeland, FL that provides services throughout the central Florida area. We offer quality writing and editing services and provides customized public relations packages for small businesses.

Our clients turn to us to cut through the clutter of “fluff” writing and jargon to write compelling copy that accurately conveys their message. They rely on us to provide creative avenues for getting their message out to their market demographic in a fashion that sets them apart from their competition.

We specialize in bringing attention to your business by helping you get your name out there and keeping it in front of the minds of consumers.

If you don’t see your specific needs listed in our services section, talk to us. We may be able to accommodate you. If you request a service we don’t provide, we are happy to recommend a professional who does.
-end-

© 2009 Sinai Internet SEO Marketing and Lorrie Walker. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that Sinai Marketing is credited as sole source. Linking to other sites from this article is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links.

In addition to SEO writing, public relations professionals also must be well-versed on how to use the ever-evolving world of social media to assist clients in their public relations campaigns, said Lorrie Walker, president of Lorrie Walker Communications, Inc. and a Tampa press release writer.
“I am a firm believer that the future of marketing and public relations efforts is solidly entrenched in the wise use of the Internet,” Walker said. “Everyone turns to the Internet these days when they are looking for a product or service, so a good public relations campaign must include the use of techniques that give clients’ Web sites a prominent presence on the Internet and in organic search results.”

According to a Nielsen study released in January, as well as research from Webvisible that was reported by Marketing Charts, 63 percent of small business owners and consumers use the Internet when seeking information about local companies. Of those Internet users, 82 percent use search engines for that research.

It makes sense for companies to do what they can to ensure that when people use keywords to search for the types of products and services they provide, that these companies’ Web sites appear prominently on search results, Walker said.

There is a wide array of public relations techniques used to assist companies in promoting themselves and spreading the word about their services, products, accomplishments and other newsworthy events, she said, “but no matter what we do today, we always come back to the Internet at some point. There is not a public relations campaign we have conducted since the company began in which the Internet did not play some sort of role.”
The Internet even is changing the way public relations professionals communicate with journalists and bloggers when it comes to pitching article ideas and other promotional ideas for clients, Walker said.

During a recent seminar sponsored by The Dick Pope/Polk County chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association, Jan Luongo, president of Tampa-based Alliance Communications, shared some interesting information on social media, Walker said. Luongo said that 99 percent of journalists are going online for research, information and story leads.
“The days of mailing or faxing press releases are all but over,” Walker said. “These days, if you don’t e-mail releases to journalists or send them a link via Twitter (www.twitter.com), chances are journalists aren’t reading them.”

New PR Opportunities
Social media also is creating new outlets for public relations professionals to use when conducting PR campaigns for clients, Walker said.
Wikipedia defines social media as content created by people using various Internet publishing technologies.

Those technologies include blogs, Twitter and social networking sites including Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn, to name a few.
During the FPRA’s New Media Communication Tools seminar in March, Luongo shared the following information about users on several social media Web sites:
• Facebook-150 million users in 180 countries
• MySpace- 110 million users
• Reunion.com- 50 million users
• LinkedIn- 35 million users in 170 industries
• Twitter- 12 million users

Luongo said social media uses for public relations include customer service, building brand awareness, promotions, breaking news, file sharing and trending, to name a few examples.

“With all of these social media and social networking opportunities at our fingertips today, it makes it more worthwhile than ever to incorporate public relations into a company’s overall marketing strategy,” Walker said. “These outlets provide countless opportunities to assist businesses in getting their message out to their core audiences.”

Learn More
If you would like to learn more about the public relations services provided by Lorrie Walker Communications, Inc., please visit their Web site: www.lorriewalker.com or call (863) 614-0555.

About Lorrie Walker Communications, Inc.
Lorrie Walker Communications, Inc. is a public relations agency based in Lakeland, FL that provides services throughout Tampa and the central Florida area. We offer quality writing and editing services and provide customized public relations packages for small businesses.

Our clients turn to us to cut through the clutter of “fluff” writing and jargon to write compelling copy that accurately conveys their message. They rely on us to provide creative avenues for getting their message out to their market demographic in a fashion that sets them apart from their competition.

We specialize in bringing attention to your business by helping you get your name out there and keeping it in front of the minds of consumers.

If you don’t see your specific needs listed in our services section, talk to us. We may be able to accommodate you. If you request a service we don’t provide, we are happy to recommend a professional who does.

© 2009 Sinai Internet SEO Marketing and Lorrie Walker Communications, Inc. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that Sinai Marketing is credited as sole source. Linking to other sites from this article is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links.
-end-